Learn about our past performers:

Bellingham high school showstoppers

The Bellingham High School Showstoppers is the outstanding small mixed vocal ensemble out of three choral ensembles currently offered at Bellingham High.

This exceptional group has won 1st place for the last 17 out of 19 years at the Regional Solo/Ensemble Contest. Considering they compete against schools of every size including those with 3,000 students while they have approximately 1,000, that is quite an accomplishment. But beyond that achievement the Showstoppers won 1st Place in the State Contest in 2015, 2nd Place in 2008, and 3rd place in 2016.

Under the leadership of Linda Short, a 38 year veteran of the Bellingham School District, this group is often in demand to perform at schools and community events in addition to concerts.

Duet from home

Brooke Evans started studying ballet at the age of three in her hometown of Santa Fe, NM. Her dance education includes notable instructors such as Rex Bickmore and Daniel Catanach of Prince Ballet, Zola Dishong and Richard Cammack of The Contra Costa Ballet and under full scholarship with Gisela Genschow of The Santa Fe Aspen Ballet. Brooke has had the privilege of performing the works of many distinguished choreographers including Mark Haim, Wade Madsen and Michele Miller, and the solo choreographic works of Joshua Beamish, Alan Good, Eva Stone and Mary Sheldon Scott. Brooke is a co-founder of Bellingham Repertory Dance and performed in over 30 different choreographic works during her eleven seasons with the company. Currently, Brooke is the Artistic Director of Opus Performing Arts and has held the position since 2015.

Photo By: Nolan Alan McNally

Diane Williams is a movement and visual artist who has been dancing, choreographing and teaching in Bellingham for more than 15 years. She studied dance at the University of Washington and on scholarship at Western Washington University, and has taught and choreographed for WWU, Pacific Danceworks, Northwest Ballet School, Bellingham Repertory Dance (BRD) and Opus Performing Arts School. She is a co-founder of BRD, and danced with the company for twelve years. During that time, she had the pleasure of performing the works of many notable choreographers, including Joshua Beamish, Wade Madsen, Gina and Kyle Sorenson, Pablo Cornejo, Mary Sheldon-Scott, Deborah Wolf, Daniel Stark, Marlo Ariz, and solo works by Kevin Jenkins, Eva Stone and Lindsey Drury. Diane began her dance journey at age five in Bellevue, WA and spent her teens competing extensively throughout the Northwest and West Coast, earning scholarships to further her dance training from Dance Masters of America, Tremaine and Edge Performing Arts School. When she’s not dancing, Diane works as a freelance graphic designer and is a wife and mom.

Choreographer: Mary Sheldon Scott has been exploring visual media and creating innovative performance works for over 40 years. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder (1990), and studied additionally at Reed College, University of Oregon, University of Denver, and Cornish College of the Arts. Since 1993 Scott has worked in a dedicated collaboration with nationally renowned composer Jarrad Powell, and in 1994 they formed Scott/Powell Performance to explore their interest in the intersection of movement, sound, and visual territories. Their work has been presented across the United States, and has received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Performance Network/Creation Fund, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Artist Trust, 4Culture/King County, and Seattle's Office of Arts & Culture. Scott has received individual grants and awards from Artist Trust, 4Culture/King County, and Seattle's Office of Arts & Culture. Recent choreographic commissions include Cornish Dance Theater and the University of Washington. Scott teaches creative process, choreography, improvisation, and performance practice, and has been a guest faculty at the University of Washington, Cornish College of the Arts, and Velocity Dance Center.

claire campbell

Claire Campbell is a 17-year-old singer/songwriter. Music has always played an active role in her life and she hopes to spread a culture of connection and vulnerability through the power of song. Claire is an active member of Students for Action, a district wide group that works to implement change in the Bellingham schools. She is thrilled to help support this incredible organization.

Izzy Rae Jones

Izzy Rae Jones is a sixteen year old singer/songwriter. She has been writing and performing music around the PNW for four years. She views songwriting as a way to share stories and emotions, not only for herself but for others as well. Izzy is currently a student at Sehome High School and a member of “Students for Action,” a district wide group working towards change in various aspects of the Bellingham community. She is very excited to be performing in “Time For a Change,” and to be helping such a great cause.

Photo by: Reilly Aldrich

Bellingham Repertory Dance (Brd)

Bellingham Repertory Dance (BRD) is a professional contemporary dance collective in Bellingham, WA. BRD began with its first fall performance in 2006, and is now producing two full-length concerts annually.

The founding mission of BRD was to create continuing opportunities for the community’s most accomplished dancers to perform sophisticated professional dance works by established and emerging choreographers.

As Bellingham continues to gain stature as an artistic community, BRD hopes to also grow and continue to bring great dance works to local and new audiences to contemporary dance.

BRD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

For more information, visit their website:

https://www.bhamrep.org/our-story

jasmine summer

Wil Henkel has been producing music under the name “Jasmine Summer” for two years. His act is focused around a hope for a more positive future, with the power of belief in oneself. Wil is also focused on creating a more open and honest community to help break the stigmas of mental health. He has helped start a club at Sehome High School, called at “Peer Centered Outreach” opening discussion about mental health to the youth. He will be serving as a youth influencer in a national program called “Connected” for the next 18 months, learning how to address suicide and mental illness in Bellingham.

opus performing arts: “na und”

Photo by: Nolan Alan McNally

Opus Performing Arts was started by a small group of parents in the Bellingham area who wanted to provide a high quality dance experience based on a multidisciplinary curriculum in a learning environment that is both serious and fun. Opus believes that the high degree of discipline needed to progress as a performer must be taught, and that this discipline will serve the student well whether they pursue a career in performing arts or in any other field of endeavor.

This piece is from Opus’s Contemporary IV class. Choreographed by Diane Williams, this piece is performed by Ally Schuh, Bailey Kager, Grace Oman, Rosemary Hickman, and Sophie-Rose Kendrick.

Shepard’s pie

Shepard’s Pie is a phenomenal double reed duo from Western Washington University. Performers include Katerina Freedman and Martijn Wall.

Dos de la Caña

Dos de la Caña is an amazing clarinet duo from Western Washington University. The performers for this duet include Dallas Geil and Kimberly Yau.